House Bill 430 would make it legal for law-enforcement agencies to keep confidential any records that could identify their employees. The bill was scheduled to be discussed in a Governmental Affairs Committee meeting today.

However, in light of concerns expressed by New Orleans Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux, the bill's sponsor, Tim Burns, R-Mandeville, said Monday that the bill wouldn't be discussed until next week at the earliest.

Quatrevaux, in an open letter to the New Orleans legislative delegation, said the bill was needless because private information of law enforcement and other public employees is already protected by law. The only thing this bill would do is make sure that the public didn't have access to disciplinary files, which runs counter to transparency and the public interest, he said.

"I am extremely concerned because this proposed amendment will be a de facto veil of secrecy over the entirety of law enforcement personnel files, including completed internal affairs investigations," Quatrevaux said.

Burns said that he wanted to delay the bill's discussion at committee until Quatrevaux and the Louisiana Association of District Attorneys, which requested the legislation, can meet to hash out a compromise.